


If Only It Was Just Us.

by fujimore



Category: Batman - All Media Types, DCU, Injustice: Gods Among Us, Superman - All Media Types
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-27
Updated: 2015-12-27
Packaged: 2018-05-08 22:20:46
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,849
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5515412
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fujimore/pseuds/fujimore
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>My gift for powerbottombrucewayne for the Superbat Secret Santa gift exchange who wanted some Injustice: Gods Among Us angst.</p>
            </blockquote>





	If Only It Was Just Us.

Bruce has learned from a very young age that the world is a fickle and unpredictable place. From the moment he saw the thief who robbed him of his parents to now whenever he fights an unexpected foe. Every time he gains some semblance of certainty of the things in his life, life had a way of knocking him off his feet and onto the hard and unforgiving ground.

 

Everything fell apart after Joker influenced Superman to kill his wife and unborn child. It was ingenious really. In that insanely manipulative way Joker always was. He used kryptonite dust to make Superman vulnerable to Scarecrow's fear gas. In doing so, all he saw was Doomsday, not his wife on Joker’s operating table. In seeing what he feared, he did the unforgivable. Lois's stopped heart triggered the detonation of a nuclear bomb that wiped out all of Metropolis. Joker had successfully used Superman as a pawn to kill millions of innocents. In doing so, he was able to hurt Superman more than any villain ever did.

“Tell me why Joker!” Batman growled at the psychopath in front of him. Joker was supposed to stay in Gotham. It was always only between the two of them. Why had he now turned his focus Superman? He grabbed the clown by the purple lapels and shook him for good measure. Batman knew that the police watching on the other side of the glass wouldn't do anything to stop him. The rough treatment was nothing compared to what Joker did. “Why did you do this to him?”

In the face of Batman’s fury, Joker was the epitome of calm, a little patronizing even. “Every time I played with you I always lose, and it was getting a bit boring to be honest. So I decided to play with someone who I know I could win against.” The corners of his bright red lips curled with glee. “And boy was it easy to get under his skin.”

Batman throws him back onto his chair. Even after everything, it was still just a sick twisted game to Joker.

“You really think he can bounce back as if nothing happened?” Joker asked, snickering slightly. “I mean you lost it all once too right? That’s why you became this punching, kicking ball of angst. Imagine what he will become with all the powers that he has.” His putrid green eyebrows raised for emphasis.

“There are some people even you can’t corrupt, Joker. He’s one of the best men I know.”

Joker cackles loudly at the statement and wipes away an imaginary tear as if he just heard the best joke ever. “I wouldn’t count on that so quickly,” Joker said and the wall of the interrogation room blew up.

Superman stood in the hole in the wall. His face is ice cold and impassive, eyes glinting red with barely restrained rage.

“Stand down, Batman,” Superman snarled. Right now, he is the only one who stands between Superman and Joker in the interrogation room.

"You shouldn't be here Superman. You're too hurt and angry to think logically." Before he could blink, Superman has already moved past him and is standing next to Joker.

Bruce feels his entire core shake as he takes in the scene before him.

Clark had forced his arm through Joker's chest. 

Superman had taken a life.

How could this be? Clark was supposed to be the most human of all of them in the Justice League.

 

In the days after the tragedy of Metropolis, Superman took it upon himself to be a greater force in the fight against evil. He had given the entire world an ultimatum. There is to be an immediate ceasefire across the globe to prevent innocent lives from being lost. Should any nation not adhere, they would have to deal with Superman personally.

Had Superman been alone in his mission, he might not have been so difficult to stop. But there were other heroes who stood with him. When the United States government tried to gain control of Superman by kidnapping his parents, his resolve and the resolve of those who followed him only grew stronger. They were united by a desire to protect those closest to them. What if the government came after them next? If they had the gall to kidnap Superman's parents and threaten him with their safety, then clearly no hero was the exception. Something had to be done to show the world how serious Superman and those who stood with him were. They will never let something like Metropolis happen again. With the support of Wonder Woman, Flash, Green Lantern, Hawkgirl, Shazam and numerous others, the Justice League was a force to be reckoned with.

While Superman made his speeches and showed his power, Batman stayed silent.

Superman didn't need his help retrieving the Kents. The Justice League was enough for that. At least, those who remained in the Justice League were.

No, he had to pay attention to all the world governments Superman was threatening.  He had to gauge the reaction of people across the globe because Superman was making a lot of people nervous, and a nervous government rarely makes wise decisions. 

So when Superman made his way into the batcave to confront him after the event, it was no surprise really. They were still best friends after all.

"My parents were just taken," Superman roared. "Where were you?" 

"I was doing what needed to be done," Bruce said simply. After he realized the Kents were taken, Bruce had traced the directives all the way back to the president. He knew that Flash, Wonder Woman, Cyborg and the others were enough to take back the Kents. He had to warn the president that it was the wrong move to take away those closest to Superman. He had to tell him that Superman was on a mission of peace. And yet, he was unable to provide a sound argument when the president asked him if a single person should have all that power. _Power corrupts. Absolute power corrupts absolutely._

"My _parents_. You of all people-"

"You have to stop what you're doing Clark." 

"I have to stop what?" Clark spat, his face creasing with righteous anger. "Stop saving lives? Stop bringing dictators to justice?"

"You're scaring them," he responded. 

"Good!" Superman rips off his mask before he could move and stares at him straight in the eyes. "They _should_ be scared. They should be too scared to press the button, to pull the trigger, to _hurt_ each other." He tosses the mask to the floor. " _You_ taught me that."

"Clark I-" This is wrong, people shouldn't be afraid of Superman. He was supposed to be the symbol of peace and hope. He was supposed to be someone people looked up at in admiration, not fear.

"If you were me, you would have done exactly what I did. If you could do what I can."

"You killed a man, Clark." Bruce kept replaying that scene over and over again in his head. Could he have done something to change the outcome?

"I did!” Clark exclaimed without hesitation. “And every time you let that madman live, how many more have you sentenced to death? Don't you feel responsible? Don't you feel guilty?" He grabs Bruce by the shoulders and he is forced to see the pain etched on Clark's face.

"Every time," he said softly.  So many innocents have been caught up in Joker's scheme. So many hurt.

"If you know what you were doing, then why do you keep making the same mistakes over and over again?" Clark's fingers dig into his shoulders and he knows that there will be dents because it's taking a lot of willpower for Superman to not crush him like a bug. "Because of that scum, I lost Lois, our baby, everything."

"But we don't get to choose who dies," Bruce replied. His heart throbbed for Clark. No matter how he feels, an eye for an eye leaves the world blind. 

"If one person has to die in order for millions to live, I know which option I would choose every time."

"It always starts with one. That's how justification works. You do it once and you think its okay, and then next time becomes easier and the time after that. It's a slippery slope, Clark."

Superman is silent for moment. His hands drop to his side, and for the first time after Lois's death Bruce sees Clark hesitate. But that emotion is fleeting compared to the grief. 

"Can't you see that all I want to do is save lives? I can't hope to wipe out wickedness from the world if I am always above it looking down, Bruce. We have always only acted whenever a crime has been committed. Instead of waiting for evil to occur and then reacting, preventative measures need to be taken. If world leaders don't know how to protect their people, then they don't deserve the position they were given. I will make it a safer world so that no more innocent lives will be wasted."

"That is not your decision to make, Clark. You aren't a god. You have no right to make those choices."

"I'm not sure if God even exists," Superman says evenly. "If he existed, the Holocaust would not have occurred. War, genocide, the needless deaths of millions of people. If god existed, then criminals like Joker would have never been born." Bruce's stomach lurched. Clark has never spoken like that before. He always had faith.

"There are bad people in the world, but there are also good people. You can't forget that." He needs to talk some sense into Clark before he loses him. "You're right. If I were in your shoes, I can't say that I would have acted differently, but you-"

"What?"

"You're a better man than I am." _You're supposed to make the better choice._

Clark looks at him and for the first time the anger is quieted. "Join me, Bruce." He holds out his hand.

Bruce looks away. Clark wholeheartedly believes that what he is doing the right thing. Threatening governments, destroying tanks and military weaponry.

"I can't, Clark. I'm sorry." He barely recognizes the person standing in front of him.

"How can you be so cold?" Superman growled. He grabbed Bruce by the arm and the suit crumpled under his grip like tissue paper.

"Let me go." Bruce hissed. Part of it is from the pain of having the armor crushed around his arm, but part of it is from seeing this side of Clark that he rarely gets a glimpse of. The hidden side that conceals anger so volatile if Superman didn't hold on to his humanity, the earth would have paid the price a long time ago.

"Come with me, Bruce."

"No."

"You think you can hide behind your armor? You think that the world will change just by doing what has been done before?" With one hand still gripping Bruce's arm, he uses the other arm to tear away the body armor, revealing the all too human flesh covered in scars. "You're only human, Bruce. I'm doing this for you too. In my world, you wouldn't have to grow up an orphan. You wouldn't have to cover yourself in armor in order to protect civilians." Superman releases his grip on Bruce's arm and his hand moves up to Bruce's face. The anger and fury from before is replaced with yearning. "Can't you see what I'm trying to do here?" His gaze falls onto Bruce's lips.

Bruce stood frozen. It's been years since Clark touched him so softly, so intimately. Not since he broke Clark's heart by telling him to go find a normal woman to have a family with. Not since Clark got married. 

Clark kissed him softly on the lips and their eyes close for a brief moment.

Bruce shook his head before he loses himself and pushed Clark away.

"I can't."

 

Batman was not the only hero who resisted Superman's calling. Aquaman did for a time as well. Despite his efforts, when the entirety of Atlantis was at stake, Arthur too had no choice but to bend his knee. No one expected the Justice League to uproot the entire city of Atlantis and place it in the middle of the world's hottest dessert. No one expected them to take it that far. Arthur had no other choice if he wanted his people to live.

Other heroes who had their own ideas of justice went into hiding one by one. Among the civilians, support for Superman became a polarizing subject. They were either with him or against him. There was no in between. Those who had doubts kept to themselves, and supporters of Superman became the dominant voice heard. No one wanted to be the one to question the most powerful being on earth.

It started with what remained of the Justice League patrolling the earth but that wasn't enough. Their numbers were too small to be everywhere at once. Then, Lex Luthor was discovered to have survived in a fallout shelter months after the nuclear bomb went off in Metropolis. Suddenly, Clark wasn't the only one left and he welcomed Luthor with open arms. With Luthor's help, a super pill was created to give ordinary men the opportunity to be super soldiers.

Superman and his supporters now had the capability to amass an army of super soldiers. These men and women would be his eyes and ears everywhere. They will have the ability to take action with their enhanced speed, strength, and durability.

Batman couldn't let that happen. The Justice League was becoming more militant by the day with its rules and curfew. 

If an army of super soldiers were to rise, anyone that they deemed threatening to the so called peace would be eliminated. Second chances are a thing of the past. Defying a super soldier would be like defying Superman himself and no one wanted to be that person. Too many examples have been made by.

Nightwing died trying to halt the Justice League's assault on Arkham Asylum. Dick died in Bruce’s arms and the pain was worse than he could imagine.

Martian Manhunter died after he was caught impersonating Hawkgirl. J’onn stood against Superman and he too paid the price. Before he was incinerated by Superman’s heat vision, he was able to relay information about the likely location of the super pills to Bruce. He would never forget what J’onn did for humanity.

The remaining heroes that Batman recruited were the people's last chance. Oracle, Green Arrow, Huntress, and several others were the few heroes who chose to stand against Superman. 

Their mission would be to steal the super pill prototype before Superman's army is formed. If they can empower the resistance, then maybe they can stand a chance against Superman and the Justice League.

The information told them that the Fortress of Solitude had extensive upgrades in security recently. That could only mean something valuable was stored inside, something like the super pill prototypes. They had to break into Superman's stronghold. 

Batman led the team which composed of Captain Atom, Black Canary, Catwoman and Green Arrow.

They did not expect to see the Kents there when they finally got into the Fortress. As soon as he saw them, Batman knew that they had taken a larger risk than they bargained for. If Superman suspected them of threatening his remaining family, then there would be no mercy whether or not they had been friends.

Captain Atom became another casualty after he held off Superman so that the others could escape. Their fight caused part of the Fortress to cave in trapping Oliver with the Kents. He willingly stayed behind to ensure that Bruce would get the super pill and for that he paid the price.

Bruce knew that their time was limited and he had to work fast. He will not let Ollie die in vain. The super pill is their last chance to stand up against Superman. If they can form their own army, maybe then it would be enough. But first, the composition of the super pill has to be analyzed by the supercomputer in the batcave. He knows this will be the first place that Superman will look for him but he has no other choice. He told all the supporters of the resistance to go into hiding. He would contact them when he is ready with the formula.

The screen of the supercomputer barely loads five percent before he hears thundering as Superman breaks into the cave.

His uniform is torn and Superman looks more ragged than Bruce had seen him in months on surveillance footage.

Ever since the death of Lois and her unborn child, ever since the death of Metropolis, something inside of Clark snapped. He can't see the boy scout he used to know anymore. 

“It had to be you,” Superman snarled. “I took away all the madmen of Gotham but I left the original.”

“You’re delusional, Clark.” _Eighteen percent._ Superman grabs him by the throat and his eyes are red like a demon’s.

“Be careful of how you speak to me.”

“Why are you here?” _Twenty-six percent._

“I’m here to put an end to this.”

“No, you’re not. You could have killed me a long time ago.” Bruce knows he’s right. They didn’t have to do this face to face. “I know why you’re here, Clark. You think I can stop you and somewhere deep down you want me to.”

“Shut up!” Superman roared as he threw him to the wall. He knew he struck a nerve.

Bruce winced as he picks himself up from the rubble. “It would be easier if I stopped talking wouldn’t it? Then you wouldn’t have to face all the horrible things that you’ve done.” _Thirty-nine percent._

“All the things I’ve done? Don’t forget that you were the one who let Joker get away with his crimes for as long as you did,” Superman said, chest heaving, eyes blazing. “You loved him didn’t you? You hated me for taking him away from you.”

“What?” _Fifty-four percent._ “That’s not true Clark.” Superman roared as he charged at him. “Then why are you doing this, Bruce! All I’m doing is trying to make this world a better place. Why do you have to stand against me?”

“Because what you are doing isn’t right! Our friends are dead! How can you justify their murder?” Bruce tried to distance himself from Clark but is blocked at every move. They can’t have this conversation right now. Not when Clark looks like he’s trying to kill him.

“Why do you always have to make things so complicated?” _Sixty-seven percent._ “We would have been great together, the world’s finest,” Clark’s voice is tinged with regret for what could have been. He made his way toward Bruce with eerie calm. Parrying each attack as if it was a nuisance and at the same time stripping away Bruce’s armor piece by piece.

He had to get away.

He can deal with an angry Superman, but the calmness is frightening. It added a degree of unpredictability that makes him want to shiver.

“You had to keep pushing me away. No more running,” Superman growled and did the unthinkable. He kissed him.

The kiss is brutal and violent. It leaves Bruce feeling like he’s being devoured in Clark’s arms.

Bruce broke the kiss and tried to turn away but he’s stopped short. Clark tears away the last remaining armor and Bruce feels naked left only in his under armor.

“If this is how you want it, then so be it.” The grip in his hair and the arm around his waist made it impossible to get away no matter how hard he tried. “You’re right. I don’t want to kill you. I can’t. Despite everything, I still love you.”

“This isn’t love.” The rage that crosses Clark’s face is terrifying. _Eighty-two percent._ The backhand is completely unexpected and Bruce is unprepared as he lands roughly on the floor. He can feel blood dripping down from his nose. The sudden weight above him immediately brings him back.

“You don’t get to decide that!” He’s grabbed by the shoulders and his head slammed into the ground. “You left me when I needed you most. Joker hurt me but so did you.” His vision blurs and he realized with a sickening feeling that Clark is hard.

“Stop, Clark. I don’t want this.” He head ached as he tried to sit up but the body on top of his prevented that.

“What about what I want?” The sound of ripping fabric barely registers as he realizes Clark is _crying_. Bruce is forced onto his back and his legs are roughly spread. “Let me show you how much you are hurting me.”

“No Clark!” He screamed but his protests are silence with a kiss that takes away all the air in his lungs.

Clark wouldn’t.

He wouldn’t.

But then he did.

And Bruce cried for the man he once knew.

The physical pain as Clark tore into him was nothing compared to the pain in his heart.

Clark doesn’t stop until he came inside of Bruce. As if in some twisted way this was the only way he could bare his feelings. He poured into Bruce his frustration, anger, and grief.

How did they end up like this?

Tears rolled down Clark’s cheeks as he looked down at Bruce. He looked so much like the man Bruce used to know. "You know what I saw that day in the submarine? I didn't even recognize Lois, because all I saw was Doomsday. I was so blinded by fear and anger that I didn’t even realize I was hurting someone I loved.” He let out a broken laugh. “It’s such a toxic emotion, Bruce. But I suppose you know that feeling all too well.” He holds Bruce gently in his arms as he lain on his side. “I think the reason why I did all those things was part from fearing that someone close to me will get hurt again, and part of me was angry at the world where something so awful could happen. I became so consumed with all of those feelings that I ended up hurting those closest to me.”

The tears in Bruce’s eyes continued to flow as he listened quietly.

“I'm sorry, Bruce. I don't think I could ever be what I once was again. This is all that's left, and as wrong as it seems. I still want you in my life whether you want it or not.” Clark wraps his hand around Bruce's neck in a loose hold. I don't think I can ever let you go. I don't want to let you go. Let me be with you for as long as I can in this life before I burn in hell for all the things I've done.”

Bruce closed his eyes and placed his hand on top of Clark's.

_One hundred percent. Analysis complete._


End file.
